Baseball: Pope John Paul II christens new field with a win over John Carroll, 6-1

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Pope John Paul II Catholic opened play on its brand-new field in winning fashion Saturday with a 6-1 victory over John Carroll Catholic.

Construction on the field started three years ago. Led by Stephen Kusek, father of senior left fielder Bryan Kusek, the parent-driven project was completed for more than $140,000. The three funding sources included booster funding at the school, selling outfield signs and probably 90 percent represented donations from baseball-team parents.

“This campus is a miracle,” Vincent Aquila, the principal since 2000, said. “It’s been built entirely from donations from our local priests and our bishop, our parents, donors, benefactors. People who’ve never had a kid in a Catholic school before. They’ve all given to this campus.”

“The key to me is that everybody pitched in (on the field project),” Falcons baseball supporter Brad Sturgis said. “And it’s a good feeling inside to know that you’ve contributed to something that’s going to be here a lot longer than your child is going to be in school.”

Junior right-hander Zach Rowe went the distance for PJPII (5-1). He had five strikeouts and allowed three hits and two walks in seven innings.

“It was a good day to be out here,” Rowe (2-0) said. “I was feeling good and we just played good as a team.

“I was mixing up fastball–mainly two-seam–and curveball and changeup,” he said.

"I couldn't be more proud of the way our guys played," Falcons coach Wes Rebertson said. "Our fans were amazing. It's huge-I'm kind of speechless. It's just a great day for these players, for our school and just for the Catholic community in North Alabama."

Sophomore left-hander Cam McLean (0-1) took the loss for John Carroll Catholic. He had two strikeouts and allowed five runs, two earned, one hit and three walks in two innings. Nick Talyor went 2 for 2 and scored the run for the Cavaliers (2-4).

“You just have to give all the credit to the guys that played John Carroll,” Cavaliers coach Joel Morris said. “They came out and were better prepared than we were. They executed. They deserved to win.”

The Class 4A Falcons have won 2 of 3 annual meetings against Class 5A John Carroll Catholic.